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Entertainment Entry
This pergola was designed with several thoughts in mind, several request asked, and the pergola needed to be substantial.
I had looked at the style and size of house and determined right away we needed something with some bulk, girth, and substance.
The homeowners are not fancy, quaint, do-dad type of people that need to look at lots of embellishment or intricate detail.
Finally the space itself is big, big house, big pool, tall trees, and large lawn. Including a long drive with a big parking area to go through before reaching this back yard space. Read the rest of this entry »
Down to less than 5 or so more post to move over here. Plus some link material, and a look at how categories work here vs, where I’ve been.
I see there have been a few visitors drop in before the actual grand-opening. Feel free to look around and if you have any questions e-mail me at rick(at)whisperingcraneinstitute(dot)com
posted, 12/00/06
” It’s a good thing I had a bag of marijuana. If I had a bag of spinach, I’d be dead by now.” -Willie Nelson
posted, 12/19/06
I believe that water is the only drink for a wise man. ~Henry David Thoreau
Filthy water cannot be washed. ~African Proverb
“Throughout the history of literature, the guy who poisons the well has been the worst of all villains…” -ANON
“Water is a very good servant, but it is a cruel master.”
C.G.D. Roberts, “Adrift in America”, 1891
“You could not step twice into the same rivers; for other waters are ever flowing on to you.”
Heraclitus of Ephesus
“When you drink the water, remember the spring”
Chinese Proverb
“When the well is dry, we learn the worth of water”
Benjamin Franklin
“The stone in the water knows nothing of the hill which lies parched in the sun.”
African Proverb
My thanks to Samuel Clemens for the title quote, thanks again Mr. Twain.
The above falls was built from Colorado fieldstone, the falls in the photo is about 18inches high, and running about 1700 gallons per hour regarding the rate of flow.
posted, 12/00/06
Is that what I think it is? A fire-pit in the living room . . . Okay I know I an no longer hip for 2 reasons; #1. I don’t live on the East Coast, preferably New York, and #2. I just turned 50. But a fire-pit in the living room, something rather uncommon in my parts and it’s not just any old fire-pit, it’s a rolling fire-pit.
Plus I’m not quite sure what’s going on with the twigs and the bamboo back by the wall. Is it supposed to be rustic Japanese with a dash of peacock?
The entire story is on the NY Times. What is this all about? The collection of stuff, or a unique design style?
One thing that comes to mind looking at this trend, if work gets slow outside for me it appears that I now have another venue working indoors . . . in New York.
posted, 12/15/06
Arborculture is the art and practice of doing unusual things with trees to create living works of art. There are even practitioners who grow trees to only cut them down and create furniture.
The photo on the right is a living sculpture by the father of the movement Axel Erlandson. The 6 Sycamores create a fantastic and unusual sculpture.
The photo was taken at Bonfante Gardens in Gilroy, CA. Which is not where these trees started out. They actually started in the San Joaquin Valley as part of Erlandsons Tree Circus. The story of how they got from one place to another is told here, here, and here. The page for Mark Primack is here.
A pdf from Bonfante Gardens which talks about the large aquascape gardens and later in the file talks about the big move of Erlandson’s remaining 29 trees from their original location to their present home. It’s quite a story of determination and co-operation, and a man who wanted to see these specimens survive.
The fellow on the left is Arthur Weichula. Art had some interesting idea about arborculture and other uses for living trees. he was very interested in how living joints, or how inosculation worked.
While looking at all this I was reminded of the ancient art of pleaching, which was developed by the Romans. I say Romans because they were the 1st to speak of it in their writings. it’s certainly possible pleaching happened before then. But . . . I digress.
Here’s a good explanation, the images were missing when I looked at the page. Here you can see a few good examples of pleaching but the writing on the page looked strange for me. The 2 examples will give you a very good idea of what pleaching is all about. let me know if the links are a problem.
In today’s World of Arborculture the guru seems to be Richard Reames who has written the book, called ARBORCULTURE, Solutions for a Small Planet. I have not read the book but between his site and his work, and now the book there has been a new growth in interest in this form of living art.
Here is a interview in Cabinet magazine with Richard Reames, and I have a few other links of interest from other place/sites in the world where there is great interest in the art of growing trees to create art:
- pooktre.com where they are creating “people” out of trees. I would think in the dark with just the right mist this place could turn into a horror movie.
- living houses? maybe, I found this on the Kircher Society web site.
- Growing Village, Arborculturist from around the world.
- Archinode goes into the future of arborculture with a look at the Fab Tree Hab. Hey . . . who knows?
- Finally Mr. Wu, chair anyone?
posted, 12/14/06
A couple of sites worth a visit:
***A blog for a landscape company in Santa Cruz, Ca. One of the few blogs I’ve seen at a landscape website. They are using this blog to promo their work and it looks much better than the typical static landscape website. Kudos to Silver Tree Designs.
***In 2008 Quebec city will be celebrating their 400th anniversary. One of the big parts of the celebration will be the Ephemeral Gardens:
EPHEMERAL GARDENS AT THE HEART OF THE FESTIVITIES Read the rest of this entry »
posted, 12/12/06
I just ran across this interview in Metropolismag.com. I was hoping to read a good in-depth, insightful interview. Let’s just say I was disappointed. it comes across a one of those 20 pop questions type of interviews. Not quite what’s your favorite color, instead we get . . . bookmarks? Bookmarks? Martha doesn’t have any by the way.
Martha has continually pushed the envelope and has marketed her brand well. Her work gets lots of press, her people submit for awards (which they win), and the critics are severe. Sounds like someone at the top.
The infamous HUD Plaza.
I was hoping for some insight into her design process, and how she reads sites. Interprets the area she is going to work in. The best we get is her insistence on physically seeing the site and this tid-bit:
Most useful tool: My equal-space divider. You quickly divide things—as opposed to measuring them out—which is a godsend: I work fast and I’m bad at math.
Still if you are not familiar with her work take a look at the article, and then go to the firm’s website, one of those fancy flash pages. Here you will get a much better understanding of her work, and a better understanding of the publicity machine, look at the amount of print, not including all the critics columns. Read the rest of this entry »
posted, 12/00/06
Local children working to make their village a better place to live:
A denuded hillside in Central America:
If you have any interest working/supporting an organization the does reforestation work let me suggest Trees for the Future. I met Dave Deppner several years ago and immediately liked the man. he is honest, sincere, and dedicated, very dedicated. Dave is a strong believer in sustainable agroforestry, from the website:
Tree Planting: We help people plant multi-purpose, fast-growing, ecologically appropriate tree species. By choosing species tailored to the needs of the communities we serve, we create agroforestry systems that rebuild worn soils, reduce erosion, replenish groundwater aquifers and create microclimate conditions that encourage the return of indigenous species.
Agroforestry Training: We have developed a long-distance agroforestry training program that is being used to train community leaders worldwide in sustainable agroforestry practices. The curriculum covers agroforestry techniques, appropriate species, nursery management, livestock management, pest control, and more. Successful completion of an exam is required to graduate. To learn more, click here.
The “Forest Garden”: The forest garden is a multi-layered agroforestry system that strives to realize the diversity and productivity of a natural forest with species of plants and animals that are useful to humans. In many cases, we see spectacular harvests from this combination of trees and cash crops. Integrating more crops on one piece of land yields greater total production, reduced incidence of insects and other pests, increased quality of food produced, and lowered damage from storms and soil erosion.
More stripped rainforest: Read the rest of this entry »
posted, 12/00/06
The steps from a wider angle:
On 12/7 I posted a close-up of the stone steps, showing some of the detail. I was after a look of strong yet informal steps that led out on to the lawn.
These steps are the only way to get from the parking court and upper terrace to that front lawn. The large barnstone on the left was needed to hold up the planting bed. This bed was designed in to screen the view of the cars from the street. and create a buffer of green between the view and the asphalt.
The bed swirls on the right before working back into another small wall that took advantage of stone found on the property. This wall was built to hold up the planting bed and upper terrace walkway and patio.
The view from here show the upper terrace. This is a flat stone called Maryland chocolate set on a bed of limestone dust and screenings. The steps are at the far end of this patio between the Crabapple trees. If I remember correctly these are “Sugar Tyme‘ Crabs.
I would like to point out these pictures were taking last summer, the Summer of 2006, and this job was installed in the Spring of 2000. The patio has held up quite well, and most of the plants are still in the same place we planted them 16 years ago.
I had an opportunity to chat with one of the homeowners. She had pulled in when I was shooting these pictures. We talked about several things and she mentioned how happy they had been with everything all these years. I had to tell her they had done a great job with the upkeep and that everything still looked great.
This view shows a better look at the short wall that holds up the small bed and terrace. The beds; after 16 years, look fairly tidy.
posted, 12/07/06
“Without discipline, there’s no life at all.” -Katherine Hepburn
These steps were installed in 1989, and photo was taken in 2005.
posted, 12/06/06
How could you not like an post about the use and love of stone. George has written a nice piece about stone, moving stone, and how stone works in his garden.
What I especially liked was his mention of The Forgotten Art of Building a Stone Wall by Curtis Fields. If my memory serves correct this was the 1st book on stone in my library. George is right, it is a small, clean simple book, but if you love stone, and want to build walls it is an indispensable tool in you stone building toolbox.
Thanks George and keeping moving those stones. Nice use of standing stones, look to the last photo in the post.
My hope is to use this site to spread some info about the art and practice of Landscape Design. It is a very misunderstood profession; I do not cut grass like the next door neighbor's cousin who carries 3 mowers and a blower in the back of his truck.
I will also pass along comments on industry happenings, events, etc., and any maybe a few other adventures going on in my world-after all this is "my" blog. Thanks for stopping by and taking a look. Questions? Drop me an e-mail.
rick (at) whisperingcraneinstitute (dot) com
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